Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind
by LM Simpson
Summary: Prologue up After a rash of sightings, a hunt for Bigfoot is issued. Zick, Elena and Teddy join in, only to find themselves in something even bigger... DISCONTINUED
1. Prologue

**Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind**

A fan fiction by LM Simpson

Disclaimer: I don't own Monster Allergy itself, people! (But you already know that…)

LM Simpson's tidbits (A/N): First of all, I want to announce that today is my sixteenth birthday; go me. XD

Moving on, I would like to thank all of y'all for actually taking your time to click on this and decide to maybe read at least the first couple of sentences.

This little baby already has a little background information: I originally wanted to create a short, humorous Monster Allergy oneshot starring Zick, Elena and Teddy getting into some random nonsense. However, I had a little difficulty coming up with something to fit that criteria, and eventually my love for cryptozoology inspired this very fic (it's clearly longer than an oneshot, though XD). (Maybe, just maybe, I may finally come up with one in the future…)

Before starting, I want to say a few things. First, I write whenever I feel like it, don't have writer's block (I often get that) or have the time; sometimes this may be updated very quickly and sometimes it may take weeks or months. So, try to not ask me when I'm going to update. Second, you don't have to review, but it's appreciated. If you do review, please be aware that I do accept constructive criticism (see my flame policy (at my profile) on what I _don't _accept). Furthermore, you'll also get toast as a little "reward" (long story there). Third, the canon MA characters are going to start appearing in the first (i.e. next) act; this prologue is just to set up the story. And finally…

Enjoy!

**Prologue**

0000

The scoutmaster grunted as he sat on the log. After quickly adjusting his shorts, he clapped his hands together.

"Okay, boys!" he said to his troop, "Now that it's finally dark, it's time for some campfire fun! What should we do first!"

"Weenie roast!" a slightly pudgy boy exclaimed.

"RJ, you dummy!" another with brown hair said, "We just had hot dogs! You shoulda said marshmallows!"

RJ looked down at the dirt, trying to not let anyone see the blush in his cheeks.

Another boy chirped, "I know! Campfire songs!"

"We're in the second grade, wuss!" the second boy snapped back. "Campfire songs are for babies!"

"Then what _do_ you want to do, Ralph?" asked the scoutmaster.

Ralph grinned, exposing a missing front tooth. "Ghost stories!"

The smallest in the group shuddered. "Do we _have _to tell them?"

"Richie, if you're gonna be a baby about it, why don't you go back into your tent?"

"Now, Ralph," the scoutmaster asked, "can't we make a few of the stories, uh, you know, uh, non-scary?"

The boy groaned. There was no way Mister Brooks would allow them to tell ghost stories unless they also said a few stupid silly ones for his youngest son…

"Sure…" he sight, "…But I wanna tell the first story!"

0000

"…And then suddenly, they heard rustling noises nearby," Ralph said, "One of the boys said he would check what was making the noises. He turned on a flashlight, got closer to it, and in the light he saw, a…, a…, a—"

"A what, a what?!" RJ yelled.

"A, a… A MONSTER!"

"A monster?" Richie repeated nervously.

"A monster with hair all over it and gleaming white fangs! It grabbed the boy and took him away as he was screaming bloody murder for help. And he was _never _seen again… The end."

"Daddy, that was scary!" Richie cried, jumping into his father's lap and burying his face in his chest.

Ralph snorted._ Baby… _"Oh, come on! You know it's all make belie—"

Everyone was silent as they listened to a loud noise coming from near their campsite. It was—

"Rustling noises… Just like in your story," RJ whispered.

"Um… It could be a deer," Ralph replied.

"No, it can't!"

"Yes, it can!"

"No, it can't!"

"Yes, it can!"

"NO, IT CAN'T!"

"YES, IT CAN!"

"Daddy, something smells _really _bad!"

"All right, all right!" Mister Brooks said, "I'll go check it out!"

"No!" Richie squealed as Brooks took him off his lap. "I don't want you to be taken away!"

"Don't worry, Richie, I'll be fine. Ralph's right—it could just be a deer." _A very, VERY big deer…_

Brooks turned on his flashlight and walked slowly towards the mysterious perpetrator in the forest. He flashed the beam of light where he thought the head would be, only to see a pair of hairy legs—a _very _long pair of hairy legs…

Nervous, he brought the beam of light up, up, up…

…Until he saw an apelike face.

"Oh, my L—" Was all the troop saw and heard before Brooks dropped the flashlight and started running back to camp.

"KIDS, KIDS!" he yelled, "Get in the van! GET IN THE VAN!"

Everyone followed his orders, except for Ralph, who had a camera in his hand. He was just about to take a picture of the fleeing beast when Brooks grabbed him by the shoulder and said, "What are you doing?! Get in that van _now!_"

"Alright, alright—geez, geez!" said Ralph as he quickly snapped a shot and ran to the van. As his scoutmaster stepped on the gas pedal and drove towards the ranger's place, he barely caught a glimpse of the creature's shadowed figure fleeing further from the scene…

End of Prologue

A/N: Coming tomorrow: the first act of this story (all I need to do with that one now is finish typing the rough draft and edit it). Until then, thanks for reading, and have a good day!

Bye, y'all!

LM Simpson


	2. The Hunt Begins

**Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind**

A fan fiction by LM Simpson

Disclaimer: Just be lucky I don't own canon, okay? Otherwise, it would probably be VERY different…

LM Simpson's tidbits (A/N): Believe it or not, but sometimes nothing gets in the way and I can actually keep my promises! (Slaps self in disbelief)

Anyway, like the prologue, this is setting up the foundations for the story (i.e. just _why _everyone's out to get Bigfoot, how the trio join in, etc.). However, hopefully everything will really start to kick in during act two…

Enjoy!

**Act One: The Hunt Begins**

1111

Bombo could just taste them. He slowly opened the door in an attempt to not awake Zick and saw them next to his bed. Fighting the urge to run, he snuck in as quietly as possible and towards the pair of shoes. When he finally got close enough, he leaned forward in delight…

Too bad he was not aware of the fact Zick had set up a new clock radio-CD player the night before. Just before he even touched them, the alarm, set to the CD player, came on.

"Stay away from my shoes, Bombo!" Zick's voice boomed, freaking out the monster. Zick was halfway through repeating the phrase a second time when Bombo pulled it out plug and all and promptly ate it.

Bombo's plans were foiled once again when his friend woke up; the very first thing he did after getting out of his bed was pick up his shoes.

"Morning, Bombo," he said, yawning and walking towards his wardrobe.

The clock's cord was still hanging out of his mouth. "Uh, morning, Zick…"

After getting changed, Zick started to leave the room. The last thing he said before going concerned seeing a certain cord out of a certain monster's mouth…

"BOMBO! Spit that out right now! I just got that yesterday!"

He followed the boy's orders, tried to clean his saliva off it, and placed it on Zick's bed, laughing nervously. When Zick left for breakfast, he looked around to check if the coast was really clear, opened the CD flap, and swallowed the CD whole. He never wanted to hear _that _record again…

1111

Zick entered the kitchen only to see his parents and Jeremy watching television.

Grabbing a piece of toast, he said, "Morning, guys! Say, what are you guys wat—"

All three turned around and glared at him. "Shh…" they said before resuming watching the news.

Curious, he took a bite, got behind his mother and Jeremy, and tuned in.

"…Russell Brooks and his troop," the reporter said, "were having a camping trip at this very campsite when they became the latest witnesses of the creature—the sixth sighting in three days."

"It sure was tall," Brooks said when the camera cut to him. "At least seven feet. A seven foot tall gorilla. 'Smelled really bad, too. You can sure bet we fled like there was no tomorrow!"

The camera returned to the male reporter with a photo at the top right corner of the screen. "One of the boys also actually managed to catch a photo of it," He said as the photo zoomed in, covering the entire screen. "Although it isn't exactly good quality, it is quite clear in the picture that a tall, shadowed figure slightly shown by the flames of the roaring campfire is running away into the forest.

"More evidence of the elusive creature has also been found at other campsites. Among them is found in this photo taken two days ago…"

The previous picture was replaced by another which showed the imprint of a naked foot filled with cement and an investigator's foot to the left of it. Upon seeing it, Zick's eyes widened at the proportion of the mystery foot to the man's…

"As you can see, the footprints belong to a human or ape-like creature much larger than the average man. Some hairs were found at another site and are currently being tested.

"Although no one has gotten hurt by this creature yet, the police are worried that sooner or later the creature may suddenly start attacking innocent people. They are not only not allowing the general public to enter the campground until further notice, but are also issuing an one thousand dollar reward for anyone who has further information or the capture of the creature, dead or alive.

"This is Bill Rawls for—"

Zob turned off the set.

"So… they're pretty much having people hunt for Bigfoot?" Zick asked.

"'Looks like it," Zob said.

"But why? The news even said it wasn't attacking people."

"Well, it also said they didn't want to take any chances for that _to _happen. Besides, Bigfoot isn't exactly scientifically proven, right?"

"And it should stay that way!" Jeremy butted in. "Sasquatch _can _be _extremely _dangerous if they wanted to. There are accounts of them attacking people with rocks and even kidnapping them! Very, very unpredictable creatures… No one here is to join this hunt!"

"I agree with Jeremy," Greta said, "Who knows what could happen if it attacks?"

"But Mom, Dad and me can take care of ourselves, right?" he turned to Zob. "Right?"

"Well…" Zob's expression was not exactly reassuring to Zick as he explained, "…To tell you the truth, Zick, I'm agreeing with your mother and Jeremy on this one. It's just that let's face it—I don't exactly know what to do against it if we go after it and it attacks me or you for no reason at all. Besides, do you have any idea what we can do with a thousand dollars?"

"Um… Bills?"

"Hmm… Good point, son…"

"Enough with this conversation!" Jeremy yelled. "This is getting us nowhere! No one is going to look for that Sasquatch, and that's final!"

"But—"

"I said enough!"

Zick sighed. Then, still clutching his half-eaten toast, he left the kitchen.

"I'm going out!" he yelled after opening the door.

"Be careful!" Greta responded. "And don't you dare go looking out for Bigfoot, Z—"

The door slammed.

"—Ick," she said disappointedly.

1111

"You heard about the latest Bigfoot sighting?" Elena said as they sat on the steps in front of her house.

"Yep," Zick answered, "There's a thousand dollar reward for its capture."

She gave him a face that seemed to say, "Say what?" "There is?"

"You didn't know that?" he asked. "It was mentioned on the news…"

"My dad read about it in the newspaper before he left for work this morning."

"Do you think your father might've heard about the reward there?"

Elena shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me… Do you want to check it out?"

Zick wiped off beads of sweat from his forehead. "Sure—I'd do _anything _to get out of this heat!"

Elena and Zick soon found themselves in Elena's room with the fan on and reading the newspaper article.

He pointed a finger towards a sentence in one of the last paragraphs. "There it is!"

"Hmm, now that I think about it, Dad did say he was going to ask a couple of guys at work if they can go on a 'hunting trip' later this week…"

"Your dad owns a gun?" Zick said incredulously.

"Um, yeah… I'm as shocked as you are," she said.

The doorbell rang.

"Ignore that," she said. "Say, Zick…"

"Yeah, Elena?"

"Why don't we try to capture Bigfoot ourselves?"

"What?"

The doorbell rang again… three times.

"Just keep ignoring that… You can capture it in the universal dombox and present it to the police so we can get the money!"

"Elena!" Zick said. "I can't show the police my universal dombox! Besides, what would we do with a thousand bucks?"

Elena knew the first answer right away, but had difficulty answering the second one. "Well, we can release it in a cage and have your father turn it in, and as for the money, we can, um…"

"Elena!" her mother yelled from downstairs. "You have a friend at the door!"

Elena's eyes widened, and then she grimaced. "Oh, don't tell me who I think it is…" she said as Zick and she left the room. They were not even off the staircase when she exclaimed, "I knew it!"

Right at the door with Missus Potato was a waving Teddy Thaur. "Heeey! How's it going, guys?"

Elena hopped over the last couple of steps, ran towards them, and grabbed Teddy's arm.

"Hey, what are you do—"

"We need to talk—_now!_" Elena yelled as she pulled on Teddy and started walking towards the stairs as he struggled to get free without falling and breaking his neck in the process.

"Honey," Missus Potato said, "I think your friend can go up by himself…"

"What your mother said!" he yelled.

Elena seemed to ignore them.

"Hey, um, Potato! Yoo-hoo, Potato! Someone's talking to you…"

When the trio arrived in her room shortly afterwards, Elena slid a chair under the knob and lashed out at Teddy: "Just what are you doing here for?!"

"Why do you _think _I'm here?!" he said, "I wanted to ask Zick something and couldn't find him at his house!"

"What do you want to ask me?"

"You've heard of that Bigfoot hunt, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And that reward?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely…"

"Sorry, Teddy," Elena said, "but me and Zick were thinking over the exact same thing when you came over!"

"Then what are you guys gonna do with the money?"

"We were, uh, um… We don't know yet, but we'll come up with something, trust me!"

"You don't know?!" Teddy yelled.

"Well, do _you _know what you want?" she asked.

"Of course I do! But it's none of your business!"

Elena opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Zick, who said:

"Look, guys! This is getting us nowhere!"

"Okay, then!" Teddy said, "Do you want me to help me or not?"

"Teddy… Elena's right—We _were_ talking about this before you came over…"

"But…"

"You know what? Why don't _you_ join _us_, Teddy? We all want to do the same thing, anyway…"

"Then what would we do with the money—send it to charity?"

"This isn't about the money!" Zick snapped. "This is about working together to capture the Bigfoot! Isn't that what the reward is even for?"

Teddy looked at him for a second. "Oh, yeah…" he finally said. "Good point."

"So… Are you going to join us?"

Teddy thought about it for a couple of seconds before saying, "Okay, I guess I will… Now all we need to do now is set up a meeting place!"

"A meeting place?" Elena said.

"Well, duh!" he replied, "It's not like we're all just going to randomly run around all over the place like rats in an abandoned warehouse until we bump into each other!"

"I know that," she said, "but when are we even going to do this?"

"I was thinking later tonight, actually. We're all free tonight, right?"

"Uh… Yeah…" both replied.

"Alright, then! Now where are we going to meet tonight?"

"Definitely not my house," Zick said, "I'm not allowed to go on this hunt!"

"Same here," Teddy commented, "which means all that's left is…"

"Oh, come on!" Elena said.

"Y'know, Potato, Zick and me are already here… The least you can do for us is let us have a 'sleepover' here so we can plan everything and sneak out later in the night… We can even call parents right now…"

She stared at him for a moment. "Okay, fine… Just hold on a second…" she said, before leaving the room and calling to her mother: "MOM! Can Zick and Teddy sleep over tonight?"

"Um… Sure, if they're parents say they can," Missus Potato replied, "Just know that we might be having something else for dinner now if I can't find enough hamburger meat…"

"YES!" Teddy whooped. "Be right back!" as he ran off.

As all this happened, however, Elena had the same thought going over in her head: _Why do I feel like I'm going to be in trouble for this soon?_

End of Act One

A/N: Coming soon: the second act, where not only do they get started on their own hunt, but they also bump into some Sasquatch enthusiasts that will play a huge role in the coming acts… Until then, thanks for reading, and have a good day!

Bye, y'all!

LM Simpson


	3. Night in the Woods

LM Simpson's tidbits (A/N): (Throws toast to A1 and The Blundering writer) Thanks for the review and fave (respectfully, of course XD)!

Anyway, so sorry for the late LATE update- on paper, this act was twelve pages long and well… stuff happens. I can only revise and type so fast after all!

Enjoy!

**Act Two: Night in the Woods**

2222

"Elena! Your father and I are going to bed! Lights out at twelve-thirty at the latest!"

"'Kay, Mom!" she yelled, her head poking through her door. "Good night!"

"Good night, dear!" Missus Potato called from her bedroom. "And remember—"

"Twelve-thirty at the latest, I know, I know!"

Elena heard the door close and then closed her own. After placing a chair under the knob, she looked at the two boys in her room. Both were wearing nothing but T-shirts and boxers as they were juxtaposed against each other and in front of a fan on full-blast.

"Geez!" Teddy said, "It's as hot as an oven in here! Can't we open a window or something?"

"It _is_ open," Zick replied, pointing to it.

Teddy groaned. "I _hate _this heat wave!"

"Don't we all?" Elena said as she poked her head out the window. "Hey, it's actually kinda cooler outside than it is here!"

Immediately after saying that she found Teddy and Zick on either side of her, poking their heads out.

"Hey, you're right, Potato!" Teddy said, sounding relieved. "Makes me wanna start looking for Ol' Bigfoot right now!"

"You know we can't leave until both of Elena's parents are sleeping," Zick said.

"And… How will we know that?"

"Oh, trust me—you'll know," she replied, "he snores—pretty loudly."

"And when should _that _be?"

Elena looked at the clock: a quarter past eleven. He went to bed not that long ago… "Um, it should be pretty soon…"

2222

All three looked at the clock, sweating in the bedroom: a minute past midnight.

Teddy glared at Elena. "'Pretty soon,' Potato? _'Pretty soon?' _You sure he's not taking any medicine or is an insomniac?"

"Well," she said before laughing nervously, "I think he's n—"

Suddenly the Potato residence was filled with the sounds of snoring.

Elena smirked. "Told ya."

Teddy gave her a look. "I hate you."

"I hate you, too."

Everyone got right to work getting ready for their cryptid search. As quietly as possible, they got dressed in appropriate wear, double checked what they had put in their backpacks earlier that day, took one last bathroom break, and snuck through the panty for a quick midnight snack.

After that last minute preparation, the trio found themselves back in the bedroom, staring at the clock once again. Twelve twenty-four.

Elena turned to Zick. "You ready?"

"Yup," he answered before looking at Teddy. "You ready?"

"What do you think?"

"I'll take that as a yes…"

Elena and Zick got up and put on their backpacks. After she gave Purrcy a goodnight hug, the duo forwarded to the door, only to hear Teddy call out:

"Hey! What do you guys think you're doing?"

"Um… We're leaving, Teddy?" said Zick.

"Don't you realize a few problems with just _leaving? _There are people watching everywhere in that forest to make sure only licensed hunters get in. And also… notice how much time we can waste simply _walking _there. I'd rather spend that time actually _doing _something."

The two were silent. "Oh, yeah…" Zick said, "Good point…"

"Then how do we get there?" asked Elena. "We can't exactly get our bikes out and ride there right now…"

Teddy immediately took off his backpack and unzipped it. Upon pulling out an old, beaten up pair of roller-skates, he pointed at them and made an expression that seemed to say, "Hellooo? Recognize these?"

Zick slapped a hand onto his face. "Augh! I left mine at home!"

"You did?! Zick…! Well, go get them right now!"

Teddy threw the teleskates to Zick one skate at a time; he leaned a bit forward to catch each one, and quickly put each one on.

"Do it quickly," Teddy said, clearly impatient.

"Don't worry, I know where they are; it should just take a minute at the most…"

And with that, he was gone.

Zick found himself zooming through Elena's bedroom wall, above the ground, and into his own house. He had arrived in his own room, but tried too late to stop; when he finally did stop, he realized just how close he was from running into the wall a la George of the Jungle (just one more inch…), took a deep breath, and heard snoring.

_He was in his parents' room._

Quietly, he took off the skates; he did not want to take any chances until he got his own. With shoes in hand, he looked at his parents. Still sleeping. One wrong move and the entire mission would be foiled…

He got on his tiptoes and started taking long strides across the room. Zick was doing well, considering the room was fairly dark…

…Until he tripped on something. He almost screamed as he lost his balance, but held his breath, bit his tongue and fell backwards, landing with a small thud.

As he attempted to be quiet with a bit tongue, his father's snoring suddenly stopped. Zick could hear Zob moving around in bed…

_Uh-oh… _Zick thought as he tried to crawl in front of the bed to hide.

Meanwhile, Zob sat in bed, yawned, and slightly shook his wife. "Greta, hey, Greta," he said sleepily.

"What is it, Zob?" she asked, still asleep.

"I think I heard something in here."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Greta said. "It's probably nothing. It could probably be one of the monsters or Jeremy walking about too…"

"But—"

"Zob… Relax. It's probably nothing. Now go back to sleep."

Zick waited, shaking until he heard his father snoring again. Then, slowly, he got up from the floor and got on his toes again. Upon reaching the door, he did one last check: he parents were still sleeping; the coast was clear. As he slowly opened the door, he kept checking every time it creaked until it was wide enough for him to slip out of the room and into the hall.

He got right to business once he arrived; he had already wasted so much time trying to get in in the first place, and Teddy would surely have a hissy fit when he got back. Good thing he already knew where they are…

Zick dived under his bed and took out the shoebox containing his skates. He was just about to take them out when he heard a familiar voice say:

"Well, what do we have here? We didn't know you would be here, Zick!"

Zick looked up, feeling like a spy discovered by the enemy. "Um… Hi, Grandma… Grandpa…" he laughed nervously. "Um… what are you doing here?"

"We heard some movement downstairs," Theo said. "We just wanted to make sure it wasn't a robber or a gorka…"

"Why are you back here so late?" Tessa said. "Got a little too homesick?"

Zick was in a silent panic. He had to come up with a lie, and fast- and it had to be one good enough to satisfy his grandparents…

"Uh, nope, wasn't homesick… I, uh, just had to get my, uh… pillow! Elena's parents don't really want to do much laundry lately so I had to come back to get my own! Hehe, yeah…"

Theo and Tessa simply stared for a second to process the excuse.

"Alrighty, then," Theo finally said, "watch out for any creeps on your way back; this is their time, you know…"

"I will," his grandson replied, placing the skates over the box and grabbing his pillow. The grandparents left the room, and Zick grabbed both pairs of skates and the pillow to make his lie seem valid. After leaving through the front door, he put his skates on; it was not long afterwards that he found himself back in Elena's room, in front of his friends.

"Why did it take you nine minutes to get your teleskates?" an irritated Teddy asked.

"Long story," Zick replied as he tossed each skate across the room.

"Hey, hey, hey! Watch that!" Teddy said, grabbing each skate. "My dad doesn't know that I found these in his closet!"

As soon as Teddy got his on and Elena took Zick's hand and braced herself, all three disappeared from the house.

2222

"Geez, it's dark out here," Elena said, waving her flashlight near the forest floor to try to avoid tripping over large tree roots, "I can barely see where I'm going!"

"Of course it's dark here, Potato," Teddy retorted, "We're in a forest in the middle of the night!"

"I knew that," she said under her breath.

Suddenly, her flashlight went out. She hit it a couple of times, but it failed to come back on.

"Oh, great… Hey, Zick…"

"Yeah?"

"Can I use your flashlight with you?"

"Um… sure," he replied, "just stay there- I'll need to get a little closer to you…"

Zick was just about to take a step when the sound of footsteps broke the forest's silence.

"Zick!" Teddy snapped. "try to be a little quieter next time!"

"That wasn't me…"

The steps continued, gradually getting louder and louder as they appeared to be getting closer and closer to them.

All three kept their tongues, listening until Elena whispered, "Is it…?"

"Who knows?" Teddy replied, nervous as he kept looking around for any other signs of life.

The steps continuously got louder, and faint lights appeared and became brighter as well.

Zick sighed in relief, "Oh good, it's just some hunters…" His eyes widened. "Oh, no, it's some hunters!"

"What if they're cops and they find us here?" Elena asked.

"Simple—" Teddy said, "we run! One, two, three!"

Unfortunately, doing so only grabbed the mysterious peoples' attention. It was not long before the three kids heard the group being closer on their trail than ever.

"C'mon, guys!" one of the men called, "we're close to 'er! Ger yer guns ready!"

"Did he just say _guns?_" Zick said.

"What do you think he said?!" Teddy shot back.

"Just five more yards, guys! Get ready!"

"What should we do?" Zick asked.

Suddenly, one of his feet hit the root of a tree and found himself on his stomach along with Elena and Teddy.

"Hey!" they heard another say, "The footsteps just stopped."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" the first man said, "You think that's gonna save you, girl? I'd say you just give up…"

Zick suddenly felt like he had to sneeze. He attempted to fight it by breathing through his nose, but soon after the sensations began, the men heard a peculiar noise.

"Did ya hear that?" the second asked.

"Yeah…" the first answered. "It sounded like a sneeze…"

"Do Bigfoot sneeze?"

"Ever seen a dog or cat sneeze? Then it's possible for ol' Bigfoot here to sneeze… And by doing that, she just gave herself away!"

He flashed his flashlight a few feet above the kids. "I coulda sworn it came from here…"

The man walked forward, slowly with his flashlight in hand. Imagine his surprise when he stepped on something and heard two screams of pain: one male, one female.

"What the--?" he took a couple of steps back and shined his flashlight at what turned out to be—

"Kids? Guys—it's just some goddammed kids."

The three kids got up, groaning from discomfort. Elena and Teddy each rubbed the foot the man had stepped on.

"What in the hell are you kids doing here?"

"Um, um, um… Camping with our family?" Zick replied. "We're, uh, hunting Bigfoot for our family reunion!" Elena and Teddy nodded in agreement to try to persuade the man that they were telling the truth.

"Camping, huh?" he said, "Then what campsite are you guys at?"

The three spat out different numbers at the same time:

"Nine!" Zick said.

"Twelve!" Elena exclaimed.

"Forty-two!" Teddy replied.

He cocked a brow. "Really?"

"Really!" Zick said, laughing nervously. Taking a step back, he continued, "Okay, we'll be going back now…"

"Uh, uh, uh! Hold it!" the man yelled, grabbing all three as they were about to run away. "You guys ain't going anywhere!"

"Why not?" Teddy asked.

"Y'see, our campsite _is _number twelve, which means you guys are not only snotty-nosed liars, but also breaking a huge rule—trespassing!"

"But—"

"Oh, don't even _think _about giving me the ol' 'but yew musta done this when yew were our age too!' excuse! It ain't gonna work here!"

He turned his head around! "Sam! Antonio! Dallas! Get over here and gimme a hand!"

"What are you going to do with us?" asked Elena.

"What do you think," he replied, "We're gonna bring you to the ranger and have him 'take care of you!'"

"NO!" they yelled.

"You can't do that!" Zick said as he was trapped by a blond male wearing a rock band T-shirt.

"Oh, yes I can! Let's go, guys!"

The trio found themselves struggling to escape as they were carried over the shoulders of the hunter's partners. They attempted to get free by squirming and hitting the men's backs with their fists, but soon it became clear that this was in vain; all it did was make the men a little angry.

Teddy especially was displeased with knowing this. Finally, he became so frustrated he swung a hard kick at his captor's stomach.

The man fell down onto the ground, landing on his back.

"Oh, my lord! Antonio!" Zick's holder yelled. He looked back, yelling at a fleeing Teddy: "Hey! Git back here, you little sumb—eegah!"

"Dallas!" Sam, Elena's captor cried as another one of his friends fell down in pain while his attacker ran off towards the other. He didn't have the time to say anything else before the girl struck back as well, sending him to the forest floor. He was attempting to get up when he felt a kick in his groin, which kept him down again.

The leader watched in amazement and horror as Elena fled the scene. Then infuriated a bunch of kids had just messed with his team and were about to get away with it, he yelled to the only other standing member, who was also the only woman: "Christi! Watch 'em! I'll be right back!"

He raised his shotgun to the sky and fired. "Hear that, you damn rugrats? That was a warning shot! If you guys do to me what you did to my buddies, you'll be on a feeding tube for the rest of your lives! You got to the count of three to save your asses! One! Two! Three!"

He charged, shotgun ready. He thought that he had caught a glimpse of the girl in the darkness and younger boy, and followed until he suddenly heard a strange sound twice and soon noticed he had lost them. Where were they?

Little did he know that the kids were back at Elena's house, hiding in a corner in her room until the next morning…

End of Act Two

A/N: Whew! 2500 plus words later I'm done! Thanks for reading, and until the next act, have a good day!

Bye, y'all!

LM Simpson

PS- Anyone else hear of that Bigfoot pic that was taken in Pennsylvania? (grins)


	4. Mercury Rising

LM Simpson's tidbits (A/N): (Throws toast to Shadefrost)

All right, the first update of the year… and it's the chapter with a Bigfoot encounter (oh, and a reference to another one of my fics (headdesks)).

Enjoy!

**Act Three: Mercury Rising**

3333

"Elena!" Missus Potato called from downstairs. "Breakfast is ready!"

Elena slowly opened an eye. The sun illuminated her room. Teddy was on her right, his chin touching his chest as he slept. Zick was snoring in her left ear.

She was hungry, but wanted to sleep for a while longer. _Maybe in a few more minutes, Mom… _she thought, closing her eye.

"Elena!" her mother called again. "Your breakfast is getting cold! Elena!"

Without warning, there was a series of bangs, knocks, and knob turnings coming from the other side of the door. Purrcy zipped under his owner's bed, while the room's other occupants groggily woke up.

"Please open the door, dear!" Missus Potato pleaded. "Your breakfast is getting too cold! And I made waffles today!"

"Waffles?" Zick said in a daze as Elena got up; he fell to the ground while his friends unlocked the door.

The three sat Indian-style on the living room floor eating breakfast when Teddy asked, "Hey, Potato, think you can turn the TV on?"

Taking another bite, Elena reached for the remote on the couch, grabbed it, and pressed the "power" button. On came a cartoon involving a perpetually happy hippo and his fellow animal friends singing in an African jungle.

"Oh, no," Teddy said, pointing to the screen, "not this show! Change it or I'll get that stupid theme song in my head!"

"Really? Then let's sing a happy, happy song, Teddy!" Elena responded before increasing the volume. Teddy cupped his ears and started screaming to muffle the song.

Zick turned to her. "Just change the channel, Elena; this show really does suck."

She frowned, "Okay, fine…" she said before switching the channel with one showing the local news. She was about to change it again when the group heard a familiar voice on the set.

"Holy sneeze, is that…"

"That's right, everyone," the female reporter said, "The Texan Sasquatch Society traveled from Waco, Texas, to join the hunt for Bigfoot going on in the local campgrounds. The society, whose members include Antonio Paso, Dallas Worth, Sam Houston, Christi Plano, and founder Austin Galveston, was founded in 1995 in order to find proof that will finally close the debate over Bigfoot's existence once and for all. In the sixties, a controversial video allegedly showing a female was shot by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin; known as the Patterson film, it is now considered the equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster's "Surgeon's Photo.

"Mister Galveston, how close do you think the society is to succeeding in its mission?"

"Why, very close, ma'am," Austin replied, "just last night alone we recorded some mysterious sounds, found some big footprints, and even had some 'close encounters' of our own, I guess you could say… Capturing a live specimen, however, would be the best way to confirm Bigfoot's existence."

"It sure would, sir… I'm Kyra Smith and you're watching—"

Elena threw the remote back to the couch. "Oh yeah, he had some close encounters last night… Just not of the hairy kind!"

Teddy set his plate aside and got up. "I want to go back. Those guys are the least of my worries!"

"Tonight?" Zick asked.

"No… I was thinking more like… this afternoon."

"What are we going to tell my mom, then?" Elena asked.

Zick replied, "That we're going to the park!"

"Exactly!" Teddy said.

"Okay… Then what time do you guys to go there?"

"How about after lunch?" Zick said.

"That's fine with me," she said, "Wanna watch cartoons now?"

"If you put it back on Happy the Happy Hippo, I will personally make sure that you will get killed in your sleep," Teddy said.

Elena shrugged and turned the television back on. A show involving kangaroo juggling rainbow colored balls and beanbags appeared.

Both boys yelled, "CHANGE IT!"

In response, Elena pressed the channel button again.

3333

_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, _Zick thought.

Elena, Teddy and him were in the forest surrounding the campground. It was sunny out (although Missus Potato had warned them that a storm was supposed to come later that evening before they left), so the probability that hunters or rangers would come across increased greatly. They decided to solve this dilemma by standing next to the nearest large tree and take cover whenever they heard a sound.

"Ready to go to the next tree?" Teddy asked, pointing at a tree not too far from their current one. The others nodded, and he said, "On three." Clenching his fist, he counted each finger as he loosened his fist. One… Two… Three…

They dashed to the other tree, trying to avoid tripping on the large roots and detection from anyone nearby. This was repeated until Zick caught a glimpse of a certain group…

"Stop!" he cried.

Teddy shot back, "Zick! What do you think you're do—"

"Be quiet! Look!" he said, shaking as he was pointing right.

Teddy and Elena looked in that direction, and both pairs of eyes widened.

"Oh no," Elena whispered, "it's… them…"

The entire Texan Sasquatch Society was in the distance investigating an area surrounded another tree.

"Austin!" the group's camouflage suit wearing Hispanic said. "I found a couple of footprints; it looks like they came from an adult!"

"Wonderful, Antonio!" the leader said. "Go cast those suckers right away! How's the tree Dallas?"

"'Looks like a couple of the twigs and branches got disturbed since we last went by it. Oh, and I think there's some hair, too!"

"Hair, you say? Well what are you waiting for? Put the damn stuff in a bag before we lose them! Christi, photograph the casts when they're dry and Sam, tell me when you're done putting this in the log; it smells like ol' Bigfoot is nearby!"

Zick smelled the air. Something _did_ smell; was that what Bigfoot was supposed to smell like?

"Teddy," he whispered, "When should we go?"

"When they're far enough away! Duh!"

"Well, sorry!"

"Guys!" Elena said, "I think they're leaving now…"

Sure enough, the Sasquatch enthusiasts were leaving the area they had finished surveying. The three now had their chance…

"One… Two… Three!" The three ran to another tree.

"One… Two… Three!" The race to another began.

"One… Two… Three! One, Two, Three! One two three! Onetwothree!..."

… Until the sound of water rushing enveloped the area. It was no doubt that they were at the river.

Teddy exhaled and then huffed for a few seconds after stopping. "Anyone thirsty from all that running?" He said with a smile.

"We packed a couple of water bottles, remember?" Elena said.

"I knew that! Can't you take a joke, Potato?"

As his friends began quarreling, Zick heard a noise coming from the river: a splash of sorts. If he didn't also hear lapping sounds nearby, he wouldn't have thought much of it…

"Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what, Zick? Elena asked.

"A splashing sound…"

"Zick," Teddy said, "We're near a _river_. A _river, _Zick. Of course you're going to hear a splashing sound!"

"But it's not just that, trust me! I also heard something lapping the water."

"Then you probably just heard a deer drinking water or something! Come on, I'll show you!"

All three party members advanced further. Bushes began appearing more frequently, tickling them as they got closer to the water. Even then, there was a clearing and upon exiting it, saw that just a short distance from them on the other side was the source of the splashing and lapping Zick had heard. There was also a pungent smell permeating the area.

"Is that…" Elena asked.

Teddy opened his mouth, but didn't say anything right away. "Could be a bear," he eventually said.

"That's definitely not a bear," Zick said. He watched the cryptid take more water; it was not putting its face in the water and lapping, it was using long arms… and hands… Definitely, definitely _not_ like any bear he knew… Before Zick could say anything, Elena asked:

"Are bears even native here?"

Teddy replied, "I don't know… How about you throw a rock at it, Potato? If it really is a bear we can always climb a tree!"

"Oh no, even I'm not going to fall for that! The last thing I need is to spend my last seven seconds of life being chased and mauled by a bear!"

Teddy frowned. Then, he squatted and picked up a small rock. "Ready to find out?"

"Teddy!" Zick yelled, "You're probably going to get us killed!"

"Look, if you two are too scared, just pick a tree to get on; you got a million to choose from!"

"And with that, he threw the rock. It zoomed straight, hitting the creature in the head. The lapping and splashing stopped and a grunt of pain was emitted from the creature. Then, slowly, it got up on two feet…

The children looked up in amazement at the towering figure. Twice as tall as Teddy it was covered in chestnut brown hair from head to toe and had a build that was somewhere between a gorilla and a human's. It not only appeared to be a female, but was also clearly agitated. Really, really agitated. Letting out a roar, it charged after them, getting across the river with ease.

"Oh, great… Everyone for themselves!" Elena cried as all three scattered into the forest. After running a distance, she stopped and noticed that—

"Holy sneeze, she's not chasing me…" Elena had only time to also take one breath of relief before the bark of the tree next to her splintered, accompanied with the sound of a gunshot.

"Don't you dare leave that spot, girl!" Austin yelled several trees away, still aiming his gun.

_Not them again! _She thought.

"Dallas!" he barked, "go after the blue one! Antonio, get the blond! And Sam, try to capture the Bigfoot; she's not too far! And Christi, give everyone a tranquilizer, including me."

The gun exchange was carried out, and the three men began their hunt.

Gun drawn at Elena, Austin growled, "You're really not going anywhere this time, girlie. Once we round up yer little friends and ol' Bigfoot, you'll be in the ranger station with your young life in the toilet! We'll also personally make sure you'll pay for the injury you gave my first in command…"

Elena slowly took a step.

"STOP!" Austin yelled. "Go even a little further and I will shoot! Understand, girl?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but noticed someone in a tree near Austin and Christi. _How the heck did Teddy get over there?_

"Understand?"

She pretended she didn't hear the man. Teddy had her attention as he waved and then slowly positioned him for attack…

"HEY, GIRL! I said, do yew understand?! ANSWER ME!"

Elena was about to finally respond when the woman with Austin was hit by a yellow blast of light. Teddy had ambushed her…

Austin lowered his gun. "What the hell?! Christi? CHRISTI!" Looking up, he saw Teddy in a tree above the two of them. "Why, you little submit—" 

Teddy hit him with his energy dom; Austin dropped his gun, and tried to pick it up with Teddy punched him in the stomach. The older man fell and hit his head against a tree trunk in the process.

"What are you waiting for? Get out of there, Potato!"

In a daze, Elena found herself running until she arrived at a clearing. It wasn't long before Teddy caught up with her.

"That was definitely too close for comfort!" Teddy said between inhale and exhales. He looked around. "Say, any idea where Zick is?"

Elena gasped. She had forgotten all about Zick… "I, I, I haven't seen him since the Bigfoot chased us…"

"You haven't?! Oh, no… Zick!" he began calling; Elena soon joined him as they began searching for a short distance.

As it turns out, however, all of this was in vain; Zick was closer to the river, on the group with a dart near his neck along with an unconscious Dallas nearby. The Bigfoot stood next to the boy, pulled him up, and began to walk away with Zick over one of her shoulders…

End of Act Three

A/N: (Looks at the chickens who kill authors that write cliffhangers) Boy, I haven't seen you guys for a long, _long _time…

Well, the next chapter is destined to have a _lot _of stuff in it, especially since it appears that is could be the final act at this time. Until the next update, though, thanks for reading, and have a nice day!

Bye, y'all!

LM Simpson


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